Show ContentsBrabant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Brabant arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Brabant family lived in the county of Kent. The family name originates in the Duchy of Brabant in Normandy, and it is from this place that the village and parish of Braborne takes its name. In Normandy, the name was associated with mercenary-style soldiering, and the family was renowned as a group of valiant fighters, particularly in William the Conqueror's army at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Early Origins of the Brabant family

The surname Brabant was first found in the counties of Kent where they arrived from the Duchy of Brabant and gave their name to the village and parish of Braborne in the shire. They were granted a manor and estates soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by Duke William of Normandy. In William's army the Brabants were known by their distinctive name, the Great Warrior.

Early History of the Brabant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brabant research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1590 and 1654 are included under the topic Early Brabant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brabant Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Braborne, Brabant, Braban, Brabourne, Braband, Branantine and many more.

Early Notables of the Brabant family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Theophilius Babourne (b. 1590), English writer on the Sabbath question, a native of Norwich. "The date of his birth is fixed by his own statement in 1654: 'I...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brabant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brabant Ranking

In France, the name Brabant is the 2,005th most popular surname with an estimated 3,113 people with that name. 1

Ireland Migration of the Brabant family to Ireland

Some of the Brabant family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Brabant migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Brabant name or one of its variants:

Brabant Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • George Brabant, who landed in Maryland in 1680 2
Brabant Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Geneviève Brabant married in Repentigny in 1714
  • John Brabant, who landed in South Carolina in 1739 2
  • Daniel Brabant, who arrived in South Carolina in 1739 2
  • Isaac Brabant, who arrived in Georgia in 1741 2
  • Marie-Elisabeth Brabant married in this town in 1761
Brabant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Abraham Brabant, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1839 2

West Indies Brabant migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3
Brabant Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Alexander Brabant, (b. 1605), aged 30, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Brabant (post 1700) +

  • Daniel Brabant, Canadian youth baseball player, recipient of the Tip O'Neill Award for 1991
  • Major-General Sir Edward Yewd Brabant KCB, CMG (b. 1839), South African colonial military commander
  • Malcom J Brabant (b. 1955), freelance British journalist
  • Pierre Brabant (b. 1925), Canadian pianist, and composer

HMS Repulse
  • Mr. John Henry Brabant (b. 1920), Irish Leading Stoker from Ireland, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 5


  1. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  4. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  5. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


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